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Disney Resort Planned for Squamish

Canada may finally be getting its own Disney Resort. The Daily Hive out of Vancouver is reporting that the previously approved ‘Garibaldi at Squamish’ resort project by Vancouver Canucks owner Aquilini Investment Group will see a drastic enhancement with a new partnership with the Parks and Resort division of the Walt Disney Company.

Plans are huge, with an estimated price tag of $7 billion.

“This ski resort immerses all visitors into the magical worlds of some of their favourite stories and allows them to meet their most beloved characters.” - Elias Oliver, chairman of Walt Disney Parks & Resorts

Ski Plans for the park include:

124 ski runs over 3,000 acres of terrain

Six gondolas & 24 chairlifts

Four on mountain lodges; the cottage from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, a 10-storey replica of Rapunzel’s tower from Tangled, the Rebel’s ice base on the planet Hoth from Star Wars, Wandering Oaken’s Trading Post and Sauna from Frozen.

And then of course there will be a large village at the base of the mountain which will revolve around “Main Street, Canada” and include:

four Disney-operated hotels, each carrying a unique theme, including a flagship, 12-storey hotel with architecture that replicates Queen Elsa’s castle from Frozen, complete with a large inner courtyard that freezes over during the winter for outdoor ice skating.

A 5,000-person capacity plaza in front of the castle will host special events, such as concerts, and provide an optimal viewing location for seasonal nighttime castle lighting shows and pyrotechnic displays.

70 international retail stores

30 restaurants

four spas

a dozen entertainment venues including movie and show theatres

an audio-animatronic Country Bear Jamboree attraction

A 200,000-square-foot Toy Story-themed indoor water park within the village, which will consist of water slides, a wave pool, deep water surf simulator, hot and cold pools, bowling, cliff jumping, and rock climbing experiences.

Additionally, 5,000 housing units are proposed within three interconnected residential villages. Combined with hotel accommodations, Garibaldi could accommodate as many as 35,000 people at any one time.

But while the winter season is naturally focused on skiing, Disney is planning to make ‘Garibaldi, A Disney Ski Resort’ a highly-sought year-round attraction with the summer season revolving around:

sightseeing

outdoor recreation and entertainment

dining

tree-top ropes courses

a mountaintop suspension bridge

a gravity-fed mountain roller coaster

16 ziplines, including a two-kilometre-long line

But of course, this is no ordinary ski resort as any Disney project is accompanied with the Disney magical stamp of approval: The design for Garibaldi by Disney’s team of Imagineers will leverage some of Disney’s most beloved and successful franchises.

Construction on Garibaldi reportedly could begin in 2019 for a completion in time for the 2025-2026 ski season. Up to four million annual visitors are expected by 2030, and activities spurred by the resort and its visitors are estimated to add $2.5 billion to the province’s economy every year by 2035.

Walt Disney himself, the actual man, dreamt of a Disney ski resort. Before his sudden death in 1966, he reportedly had plans to build a ski resort in Mineral King Valley in California’s Sequoia National Park.

Plans fell apart after his death when the company instead focused efforts on their Florida theme park project – Magic Kingdom – which would eventually grow into Disney World.

Leading up to his sudden death in 1966, Walt Disney had a plan to build a ski resort in Mineral King Valley in California’s Sequoia National Park. But plans fell apart after his death as the company, later led by his brother Roy, instead decided to focus efforts on their Florida theme park project – Magic Kingdom – which would eventually grow into Disney World.

“Garibaldi will fulfill Walt’s dream of a recreational getaway and entertainment kingdom in the snow... He once said, ‘All dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them’. We haven’t forgotten, his dream will be realized half a century later.” - Elias Oliver, chairman of Walt Disney Parks & Resorts

Well, the entire proposal is actually just a magically elaborate and detailed April Fools Day joke by writer Kenneth Chan at the Daily Hive. The Garibaldi at Squamish resort plans are real. But the details on the Disney resort are even more elaborate than we shared. Check out the entire article at The Daily Hive.

But, as GayWhistler points out in their facebook post sharing the April Fools day article, it was "not so long ago that Whistler Blackcomb pranked #Whistler dreaming of a gondola that would connect the two mountains... nearly 10 years later the Peak 2 Peak became reality." So who knows? Maybe there's hope yet.

In the meantime... we'll enjoy the prank and dream of staying mountainside in Queen Elsa's Castle.